Question of the Day

Did illegal voters swing any congressional races?

NEW YORK — Actor Rob Lowe will leave NBC's "The West Wing" during the upcoming season, the network said yesterday.The actor decided to leave after finding out that Martin Sheen received a raise that nearly tripled his pay to $300,000 an episode, Variety and the New York Post reported, citing anonymous sources.NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker wouldn't discuss the reasons for Mr. Lowe's departure but confirmed that he will be written out of the show in March."Rob has been a huge and great part of the program," Mr. Zucker said. "We're fortunate that he's going to be with us for virtually the entire year, and after that, Sam Seaborn will move on to other things."Seaborn is the White House deputy communications director whom Mr. Lowe portrays on the Emmy-winning drama.Mr. Lowe, 38, has made about $75,000 an episode since the series began in 1999. Other supporting players Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, John Spencer and Bradley Whitford banded together last year and negotiated a raise to about $70,000 per show.